1. Field of the Invention
Many times there is a need to grow fruits, vegetables, or flowers in pots or containers as opposed to growing them in the ground. This need may arise from a lack of ground space available to the plant grower in which to grow plants. Lack of ground space may be an issue for those people who live in apartments, condominiums, townhouses, urban areas, row houses, high-density housing areas, or other dwellings that do not have yards or ground space included with the property.
Typically, the fruits, vegetables, and flowers harvested from plants grown in containers are smaller and/or of lesser quality or taste than those produced from plants grown in the ground. This is primarily due to the availability of more water and nutrients in the ground as opposed to those available to plants growing in plant containers. The ground tends to be naturally wet or moist from rain, water table, or other natural source, with plenty of nutrients, at least much more so than a typical plant growing in a typical plant container. Plant containers are not in contact with the ground to receive benefit from the water and nutrients there. Plant containers essentially must receive water and nutrients from the plant grower, who typically cannot deliver such in the optimum quantities and methods as nature does. Even when a plant container is exposed to rainwater, the rainwater tends to wash nutrients out of the soil, as the rainwater flushes in through the top of the container and out through the bottom, thereby depleting the soil in the container of nutrients. Thus, typically, conditions are better for a plant in the ground rather than in a plant container, thereby leading to better harvests from plants growing in the ground.
One particular concern regarding growing plants in containers is the plant disease commonly called “root rot”. This disease arises from too much moisture in the root system of a plant. What typically occurs is the plant grower over-waters the plant, unknowingly, thinking that he is helping increase the harvest. However, in actuality, the excess water typically cultures molds in the root system, where the molds feed on the root system or otherwise kill the root system thereby killing the plant. This excess moisture condition typically does not occur in the ground because excess water or moisture in a plant's root system typically drains by percolating down into the soil layers in the ground below the plant roots. On the other hand, with a plant container, there is nowhere for the excess moisture to drain because a plant container's bottom is typically a water barrier. There may be drainage holes in the bottom of the plant container, however, the plant grower typically places the plant container in a saucer. Typically, drainage water fills up the saucer to be reabsorbed back into the plant container later, thereby preventing any real drainage of excess water or moisture. Even when there is actual drainage, water drains by flowing over the saucer brim, so the soil remains wet as long as the saucer remains full of water. The plant grower typically keeps the saucer full of water in order to prevent the plant from drying out, however, in actuality it frequently harms the plant by causing root rot.
On the other hand, root rot may be prevented by allowing the saucer and soil to dry out for a few hours or more at the end of each watering cycle, by not refilling the saucer until after the soil has dried out for a while. This allows the root system of the plant to dry out for a time period, which kills the mold. The killing of the mold prevents the root rot. A dry cycle, so to speak, in the watering cycle of the plant, will prevent root rot.
However, when the dry cycle occurs, the plant is losing valuable water and nutrient absorption time because the root system is allowed to dry out. In effect, every second of dry-out time required to prevent root rot detracts from the quality and quantity of the harvest. This is because plants use water in photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process used by plants to grow, i.e. to increase mass and form new roots, trunks, branches, stems, leaves, fruits, vegetables, flowers, etc. In the photosynthesis process, photons from a light source shining on a plant leaf break apart water molecules absorbed by the plant through the roots, thereby freeing hydrogen atoms from the water. The hydrogen atoms then combine with carbon from carbon dioxide absorbed by the plant from the air to form carbohydrate molecules or glucose. Glucose is then moved to different areas of the plant and used by the plant to form new plant tissue, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Thus, in short, plants combine light, water, and air to produce the fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Further, in order for a root to stay alive and to absorb water and nutrients efficiently into the plant's system, the root must be kept moist. However, when the root system is allowed to dry out, for instance, in order to prevent root-rot, the roots cannot absorb water and nutrients at all and moreover the root system faces a threat of dying if left to dry out for too long. When a plant root is dry, it is not absorbing water and nutrients during that time and additionally after the root becomes wet or moist again more time is required for the root to be capable of absorption again. Therefore, the dry time to prevent root rot wastes valuable photosynthesis time, which naturally detracts from the harvest of the plant.
2. Description of Related Art
To prevent excess moisture causing root rot in plant containers, some containers are constructed to provide an air layer or air space between the water level in the saucer or water pan and the bottom of the soil or growing medium with root system, thereby suspending the root system above the water level, keeping the root system more dry, and preventing it from contracting root rot. By the same token, however, the root system should not be kept too dry because this detracts from optimum water and nutrient absorption of the plant, thereby detracting from the optimum harvest from the plant. To combat this, while still preventing root rot, some containers are designed with wicking chambers. Wicking chambers are smaller areas of the soil medium that actually do extend down below the water level in the saucer so that soil in the wicking chamber may absorb or wick water up and carry it into the main soil medium chamber, which is located above the airspace and above the water level in the saucer. The wicking chamber must be designed in such a way so as to absorb or wick enough water and nutrients into the main soil chamber to render rapid growth of the plant along with rapid growth of its fruits, vegetables, or flowers, but not too much as to cause root rot which typically leads to total failure of the plant. There are several devices in the prior art that have this air layer along with wicking chambers to function in such a way.
However, nothing in the prior art includes a separate insert member that supports the soil or growing medium above a water reservoir where the insert member has specially shaped root-pruning aeration apertures that allow the plant's root system to stay moist so that the roots may continuously absorb water and nutrients throughout the day while also preventing the root system from becoming too wet to allow root rot to develop. Root-pruning aeration apertures accomplish this in part by forcing large roots back into the soil chamber and not allowing them to pass through the insert and into the water reservoir, while also allowing only tiny roots or root hairs to pass through the insert and into the water reservoir. This division is key to preventing the over-wetting of the soil. Root-pruning aeration apertures also allow air to permeate through them thereby aerating the root system, but not allowing too much air to permeate so as to cause the roots to dry out, thereby slowing or stopping the absorption of water and nutrients by the roots of the plant. There are other special aspects of the insert member that are patentable.